# Al Faswlu th-Thaalith · الْفَصْلُ الثَّالِثُ

From [Qasida Al Burda · قصيدة البردة](https://qasaaid.zayfir.app/app/qasaaid/691c712ac9a45b73e98077a8) by [Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Busiri](https://qasaaid.zayfir.app/app/authors/691c70fac9a45b73e980779f)

**1.** ظَلَمْتُ سُنَّةَ مَنْ أَحْيَا الظَّلاَمَ إِلَى / أَنِ اشْتَكَتْ قَدَمَاهُ الضُّرَّ مِنْ وَرَمِ

_Ẓalamtu sunnata man aḥyādh ẓalāma ilā / Anishtakat qadamāhuḍ ḍurra min warami_

I have wronged the Sunna of him who enlivened the dark nights
By praying till his feet complained of painful swelling.

**2.** وَشَدَّ مِنْ سَغَبٍ أَحْشَاءَهُ وَطَوَى / تَحْتَ الحِجَارَةِ كَشْحًا مُتْرَفَ الأَدَمِ

_Wa shadda min saghabin aḥshāʾahu wa ṭawā / Taḥtal ḥijārati kash-ḥan mutrafal adami_

He placed a stone over his belly and soft skin,
Tightening a belt over it to diminish the hunger pangs.

**3.** وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الجِبَالُ الشُّمُّ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ / عَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَأَرَاهَا أَيَّمَا شَمَمِ

_Wa rāwadat-hul jibālush shummu min dhahabin / ʿAn nafsihi fa arāhā ayyamā shamami_

Lofty mountains tried, to tempt him with turning to gold,
But he showed them the height of his own loftiness!

**4.** وَأَكَّدَتْ زُهْدَهُ فِيهَا ضَرُورَتُهُ / إِنَّ الضَّرُورَةَ لاَ تَعْدُو عَلَى العِصَمِ

_Wa akkadat zuhdahu fīhā ḍarūratuhu / Innaḍ ḍarūrata lā taʿdū ʿalal ʿiṣami_

His dire neediness only strengthened his detachment;
neediness like his never leads to transgression.

**5.** وَكَيْفَ تَدْعُو إِلَى الدُّنْيَا ضَرُورَةُ مَنْ / لَوْلاَهُ لَمْ تُخْرَجِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ العَدَمِ

_Wa kayfa tadʿū ilad dunyā ḍarūratu man / Lawlāhu lam tukhrajid dunyā minal ʿadami_

How could need tempt him with worldliness, when but for him
The world would not have emerged from non-existence?

**6.** مُحَمَّدٌ سَيِّدُ الكَوْنَيْنِ وَالثَّقَلَيْـ / ـنِ وَالفَرِيقَيْنِ مِنْ عُرْبٍ وَمِنْ عَجَمِ

_Muḥammadun sayyidul kawnayni wath thaqalay- / -ni wal farīqayni min ʿurbin wa min ʿajami_

Muhammad is the master of both abodes, of both kinds,
And both classes [of people]: Arabs and non-Arabs.

**7.** نَبِيُّنَا الآمِرُ النَّاهِي فَلاَ أَحَدٌ / أَبَرَّ فِي قَوْلِ لاَ مِنْهُ وَلاَ نَعَمِ

_Nabiyyunal āmirun nāhī falā aḥadun / Abarra fī qawli lā minhu wa lā naʿami_

Our Prophet, who commands and who forbids;
None is more true than him in saying “yes” or “no”.

**8.** هُوَ الحَبِيبُ الذِّي تُرْجَى شَفَاعَتُهُ / لِكُلِّ هَوْلٍ مِنَ الأَهْوَالِ مُقْتَحَمِ

_Huwal ḥabībul ladhī turjā shafāʿatuhu / Li kulli hawlin minal ahwāli muqtaḥami_

He is the Beloved whose intercession is hoped for,
Victorious over every terror and disaster.

**9.** دَعَا إِلَى اللهِ فَالْمُسْتَمْسِكُونَ بِهِ / مُسْتَمْسِكُونَ بِحَبْلٍ غَيْرِ مُنْفَصِمِ

_Daʿā ilaLlāhi fal mustamsikūna bihi / Mustamsikūna biḥablin ghayri munfaṣimi_

He called [people] to Allah, so those who hold fast to him
Are holding fast to a rope that never shall break.

**10.** فَاقَ النَبِيّينَ فِي خَلْقٍ وَفِي خُلُقٍ / وَلَمْ يُدَانُوهُ فِي عِلْمٍ وَلاَ كَرَمِ

_Fāqan nabiyyīna fī khalqin wa fī khuluqin / Wa lam yudānūhu fī ʿilmin wa lā karami_

He excelled the other Prophets in form and qualities;
Their knowledge and nobility did not come near his.

**11.** وَكُلُّهُمْ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ مُلْتَمِسٌ / غَرْفًا مِنَ البَحْرِ أَوْ رَشْفًا مِنَ الدِّيَمِ

_Wa kulluhum min rasūliLlāhi multamisun / Gharfan minal baḥri aw rashfan minad diyami_

They all seek something from Allah’s Emissary –
handfuls from the sea, or small sips of drizzle.

**12.** وَوَاقِفُونَ لَدَيْهِ عِنْدَ حَدِّهِمِ / مِنْ نُقْطَةِ العِلْمِ أَوْ مِنْ شَكْلَةِ الحِكَمِ

_Wa wāqifūna ladayhi ʿinda ḥaddihimi / Min nuqṭatil ʿilmi aw min shaklatil ḥikami_

They all stand before him, observing their limits;
Dots to his knowledge, or vowel-marks to his wisdom.

**13.** فَهْوَ الذِّي تَمَّ مَعْنَاهُ وَصُورَتُهُ / ثُمَّ اصْطَفَاهُ حَبِيبًا بَارِئُ النَّسَمِ

_Fa huwal ladhī tamma maʿnāhu wa ṣūratuhu / Thummaṣṭafāhu ḥabīban bāriʾun nasami_

It is he whose meaning and form attained perfection
Then the Maker of Souls chose him for His beloved.

**14.** مُنَزَّهٌ عَنْ شَرِيكٍ فِي مَحَاسِنِهِ / فَجَوْهَرُ الحُسْنِ  فِيهِ غَيْرُ مُنْقَسِمِ

_Munazzahun ʿan sharīkin fī maḥāsinihi / Fa jawharul ḥusni fīhi ghayru munqasimi_

Exalted above having a rival in his perfections;
In him is the undivided essence of beauty.

**15.** دَعْ مَا ادَّعَتْهُ النَّصَارَى فِي نَبِيِّهِمِ / وَاحْكُمْ بِمَا شِئْتَ مَدْحًا فِيهِ وَاحْتَكِمِ

_Daʿ maddaʿat-hun naṣārā fī nabiyyihimi / Waḥkum bimā shiʾta mad-ḥan fīhi waḥtakimi_

Eschew the claim Christians have made for their Prophet.
Then say in his praise what you will, but wisely!

**16.** وَانْسُبْ إِلَى ذَاتِهِ مَا شِئْتَ مِنْ شَرَفٍ / وَانْسُبْ إِلَى قَدْرِهِ مَا شِئْتَ مِنْ عِظَمِ

_Wansub ilā dhātihi mā shiʾta min sharafin / Wansub ilā qadrihi mā shiʾta min ʿiẓami_

Ascribe whatever honour you will to his essence,
And ascribe what greatness you will to his worth;

**17.** فَإِنَّ فَضْلَ رَسُولِ اللهِ لَيْسَ لَهُ / حَدٌّ  فَيُعْرِبَ عَنْهُ نَاطِقٌ بِفَمِ

_Fa inna faḍla rasūliLlāhi laysa lahu / Ḥaddun fa yuʿriba ʿanhu nāṭiqun bifami_

For the worth of Allah’s Emissary has no limit
That could be expressed by a human mouth.

**18.** لَوْ نَاسَبَتْ قَدْرَهُ آيَاتُهُ عِظَمًا / أَحْيَا اسْمُهُ حِينَ يُدْعَى دَارِسَ الرِّمَمِ

_Law nāsabat qadrahu āyātuhu ʿiẓaman / Aḥyaʾsmuhu ḥīna yudʿā dārisar rimami_

If his miracles were commensurate with his greatness,
The mere mention of his name would give life to dry bones.

**19.** لَمْ يَمْتَحِنَّا بِمَا تَعْيَا الْعُقُولُ بِهِ / حِرْصًا عَلَيْنَا فَلَمْ نَرْتَبْ وَلَمْ نَهِمْ

_Lam yamtaḥinnā bimā taʿyal ʿuqūlu bihi / Ḥirṣan ʿalayna falam nartab wa lam nahimi_

He did not try us with things that confound the mind
Out of concern for us, so we neither doubted nor strayed.

**20.** أَعْيَا الوَرَى فَهْمُ مَعْنَاهُ فَلَيْسَ يُرَى / فِي القُرْبِ وَالْبُعْدِ فِيهِ غَيْرُ مُنْفَحِمِ

_Aʿyal warā fahmu maʿnāhu falaysa yurā / Fīl qurbi wal buʿdi fīhi ghayru munfaḥimi_

Man’s mind is exhausted trying to understand his meaning;
All of them, near or far, appear as if dumbstruck.

**21.** كَالشَّمْسِ تَظْهَرُ لِلْعَيْنَيْنِ مِنْ بُعُدٍ / صَغِيرَةً وَتُكِلُّ الطَّرْفَ مِنْ أَمَمِ

_Kash shamsi taẓ-haru lil ʿaynayni min buʿudin / Ṣaghīratan wa tukilluṭ ṭarfa min amami_

He is like the sun: small to the eye when seen from afar,
But dazzling to the sight when seen close up.

**22.** وَكَيْفَ يُدْرِكُ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَقِيقَتَهُ / قَوْمٌ نِيَامٌ تَسَلَّوْا عَنْهُ بِالحُلُمِ

_Wa kayfa yudriku fid dunyā ḥaqīqatahu / Qawmun niyāmun tasallū ʿanhu bil ḥulumi_

How can his reality be grasped in this world
By sleeping folk, distracted from him by dreams?

**23.** فَمَبْلَغُ العِلْمِ فِيهِ أَنَّهُ بَشَرٌ / وَأَنَّهُ خَيْرُ خَلْقِ اللهِ كُلِّهِمِ

_Fa mablaghul ʿilmi fīhi annahu basharun / Wa annahu khayru khalqiLlāhi kullihimi_

The extent of our knowledge is that he is a mortal –
And that he is the best of Allah’s creation!

**24.** وَكُلُّ آيٍ أَتَى الرُّسْلُ الكِرَامُ بِهَا / فَإِنَّمَا اتَّصَلَتْ مِنْ نُوِرِهِ بِهِمِ

_Wa kullu āyin atar ruslul kirāmu bihā / Fa innamat taṣalat min nūrihi bihimi_

Every miracle produced by the noble Emissaries
Came to them by virtue of his light alone.

**25.** فَإِنَّهُ شَمْسُ فَضْلٍ هُمْ كَوَاكِبُهَا / يُظْهِرْنَ أَنْوَارَهاَ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الظُّلَمِ

_Fa innahu shamsu faḍlin hum kawākibuhā / Yuẓ-hirna anwārahā lin nāsi fidh ẓulami_

For he is the sun of virtue, and they are its planets;
They display its lights to mankind in the darkness.

**26.** أَكْرِمْ بِخَلْقِ نَبِيٍ زَانَهُ خُلُقٌ / بِالحُسْنِ مُشْتَمِلٍ بِالبِشْرِ مُتَّسِمِ

_Akrim bikhalqi nabiyyin zānahu khuluqun / Bil ḥusni mushtamilin bil bishri muttasimi_

How noble the qualities of a Prophet beautified by such traits:
Full of beauty, and marked by smiles and good cheer!

**27.** كَالزَّهْرِ فِي تَرَفٍ وَالبَدْرِ فِي شَرَفٍ / وَالبَحْرِ فِي كَرَمٍ وَالدَّهْرِ فِي هِمَمِ

_Kaz zahri fī tarafin wal badri fī sharafin / Wal baḥri fī karamin wad dahri fī himami_

Like flowers in delicate beauty, like the full moon in honour;
like the sea in generosity, like time in persistence.

**28.** كَأَنَّه وَهْوَ فَرْدٌ مِنْ جَلاَلَتِهِ / فِي عَسْكَرٍ حِينَ تَلْقَاهُ وَفِي حَشَمِ

_Ka annahu wa huwa fardun min jalālatihi / Fī ʿaskarin ḥīna talqāhu wa fī ḥashami_

So majestic was his presence that even when alone
he appeared surrounded by a large army and retinue.

**29.** كَأَنَّمَا اللُّؤْلُؤْ المَكْنُونُ فِي صَدَفٍ / مِنْ مَعْدِنَيْ مَنْطِقٍ مِنْهُ وَمُبْتَسِمِ

_Ka annamal luʾluʾul maknūnu fī ṣadafin / Min maʿdinay manṭiqin minhu wa mubtasami_

It is as if precious hidden pearls, sparkling from their shells,
came from the treasure-mine of his speech and smile.

**30.** لاَ طِيبَ يَعْدِلُ تُرْبًا ضَمَّ أَعْظُمَهُ / طُوبىَ لِمُنْتَشِقٍ مِنْهُ وَمُلْتَثِمِ

_Lā ṭība yaʿdilu turban ḍamma aʿẓumahu / Ṭūbā li muntashiqin minhu wa multathimi_

No perfume can match the ground that holds his bones.
Blessed are those who breathe in its fragrance or kiss it!

Source: https://qasaaid.zayfir.app/app/qasaaid/691c712ac9a45b73e98077a8/book/691c7161c9a45b73e98077db/chapter/691c7207c9a45b73e98077ed